Background: Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's disease related dementias (AD/ADRD) have increased in prevalence.
Objective: This article describes the Add Health Parent Study (AHPS) Phase 2, a study of social, behavioral, and biological factors influencing healthy aging and risk for AD/ADRD, in a national sample of adults aged 58-90.
Methods: Sample members are parents of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) cohort, initially interviewed in Add Health in midlife (1994-95). AHPS Phase 1 (2015-17) collected longitudinal data on a random subsample of parents and their spouse/partners, who were mostly Non-Hispanic (NH) White. AHPS Phase 2 will collect the same longitudinal socio-behavioral, and health survey data on all remaining NH Black and Hispanic parents (Black and Hispanic Supplement, BHS). Additionally, Phase 2 will collect cognitive and DNA data from AHPS Phase 1 and BHS sample parents and their current spouse/partners.
Results: Funded by the National Institute on Aging, recruitment will occur between June 2025 and May 2026, producing an expected total AHPS sample of 5506 parents and their spouse/partners.
Conclusions: The AHPS will be the first longitudinal cohort study powered to address multigenerational racial/ethnic disparities in AD/ADRD risk and protective factors across race/ethnic groups and socioeconomic strata.
Keywords: Add health; Alzheimer’s disease; Black or African American; DNA; Hispanic or Latino; intergenerational; parents.